Target announced this morning that in addition to its existing price-matching policy of matching advertised prices in competitors’ flyers, they will also now price-match leading online retailers, including Amazon.com, Walmart.com, BestBuy.com, ToysRUs.com and more. From US News and World Report:
The nation’s second largest discounter behind Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it will match prices that customers find on identical products at top online retailers, all the time. The online list includes Amazon.com as well as the websites of Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Toys R Us and Babies R Us. And, it will also match its own prices at Target.com.
The moves follow a disappointing holiday shopping season for the Minneapolis-based retailer, hurt by stiffer competition from online rivals and stores like Wal-Mart that have hammered its low prices. It’s also the latest step from brick-and-mortar stores to combat “showrooming” — a growing trend for customers to browse their stores to check out products, and then go online to buy the same products for less elsewhere.
Mark Schindele, Target senior vice president of merchandising operations, noted the discounter monitors prices of 30,000 items, and thousands more online, to make sure it’s competitive. But Target says it had to do more to give shoppers more confidence.
“We believe that our prices are competitive year round,” Schindele said in an interview. “We also know that our guests shop in many ways.”
Many major stores have offered price matching guarantees for local competitors’ brick-and-mortar stores, but it wasn’t until this past holiday season that the focus was on matching online prices. That can be difficult, since online prices tend to be lower and fluctuate often.
Price matches may be requested at Target’s guest services desk prior to purchase, with proof of an online competitor’s current price or after purchase with the original Target receipt and proof of the lower online price.
“This has been a seamless experience,” Schindele said. “There have been a lot of positives.”
Note that the new policy does exclude Amazon Marketplace items, where products are sold by a third party and not Amazon itself.
Read the entire article at US News and World Report
chiwolvesfan says
I was standing at the Wheaton (County Farm & Roosevelt) Target customer service desk on December 28, when a cashier radioed the customer service desk to ask this very question — if they would match Amazon’s online price, and the answer was “no.” Interesting how that has changed in a matter of a couple weeks. :)
Karlagiselle says
I went to the Brickyard Target in Chicago a few months ago and paid something like $5.99 for a toy that should of been $29.99 because they price matched an amazon online price. They didnt want to but i pulled out their coupon policy on them. :)
rswehrle says
I do price match at Target customer service and they always give me a difficult time. Sometimes they even say, “We’ll do it for you this time”, like I am begging them to uphold their own policy. And when I ask to see there policy on the price match, no one at the counter ever has a copy. If their own employees can’t reference the policy how are they to enforce the policy. Good luck getting any help from the corporate office too. I have never gotten a response back in regards to a complaint about the price match policy. Frustrating!! :(
talbee says
I tried to do this yesterday at Target and they said they only did it with amazon.com over the holidays and now they will only price match what is on Target.com. Is this printed somewhere so I can go back to get the price match with amazon.com price?
hwendt12 says
how to do this NOW??? I can’t imagine that they expect everyone to shop, checkout and then go to c.service to get the price match. If they do, they will certainly have MANY upset customers, not to mention Customer Service staff. It’s almost like a worthless policy or empty promise if they know that no one is going to ‘jump through the hoops’ to make it happen. I know I don’t have that kind of time on my hands. :(